Ms O'CONNOR - Treasurer, are you able to tell the Committee how much income Tasmania earned from mining royalties over the past year, and what our rate of mining royalties is?
Mr TUCKER - Not as much as what you guys are going to take out of them.
Ms O'CONNOR - That's right, because we'd bring them up to the national average. Shock. I looked for them in the Budget and can't find them.
Mr GUTWEIN - Mineral royalties is on page 90 of Budget Paper No. 1. It outlines the 2021 budgeted figure, what's in the 2021 preliminary outcome - which is a significant increase in mining royalties - and then across the forward Estimates, and that just reflects strong commodity prices at the moment.
Ms O'CONNOR - Do you think it is reasonable that Tasmania, with all its mineral wealth, charges the lowest mineral royalty fees in the country?
Mr GUTWEIN - I haven't done an assessment against other states or territories.
Ms O'CONNOR - We have. Have a look at the Deloitte data in our election policy.
Mr GUTWEIN - I don't have that in front of me at the moment, so I am sorry, I can't comment on that.
You can see that we are seeing a significant increase in mineral royalties, certainly on what was proposed in the previous year's budget, then solid royalties across the forward Estimates.
I must admit I didn't look at your alternative budget. What did you increase them to?
Ms O'CONNOR - We increased mineral royalties by 150 per cent, to bring them up to the national average.